Maria Komnene

Maria Komnene (1154-1208) was the Queen of Jerusalem from 1167 to 1174 with King Amalric I of Jerusalem.

Biography
Maria Komnene was born in 1154, and she was a member of the House of Comnenus, being a distant relative of the Emperors of the Byzantine Empire. She was the grandniece of Emperor Manuel I of Byzantium, and in 1167 her granduncle sent her to marry King Amalric I of Jerusalem to form an alliance with the Kingdom of Jerusalem against the Saracens. In 1174, Amalric died and she became Queen Dowager, leaving her in a powerful position. She married Balian of Ibelin in 1177, and she supported Conrad of Montferrat against Guy de Lusignan when the title of King of Jerusalem was up for grabs. She died around 1208, and her daughter would become Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem.